


What is family, if not parts of you from another time?

by frominsideacomputer



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Ba Sing Se, Based on a Tumblr Post, Earth Rumble 6, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fake Character Death, Fluff, Gen, Lu Ten (Avatar) Lives, Lu Ten is an earthbender, Not sure if this is a one shot yet, Secret Identity, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), There Is No War In Ba Sing Se, earth bending, metal bending, not much plot i'm afraid, surprise, there's no ships its just an au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26147740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frominsideacomputer/pseuds/frominsideacomputer
Summary: A boy goes into war and comes out a different man. He lives with a secret that could kill him, but then the world changes and he gets thrown into a storm of emotions.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Iroh & Lu Ten
Comments: 6
Kudos: 95





	What is family, if not parts of you from another time?

**Author's Note:**

> Cheeky AU where Lu Ten is an earthbender because his mother was possibly from the earth kingdom so here we are  
> (based on a tumblr post by some1)

The man knew his father was somewhere on the front lines, rallying the troops and preparing for the siege through the wall. The celebrity of his father was unparalleled, and he knew that he could not continue this double life he’d been leading. In the Fire Nation, as an earthbender, Lu Ten knew he would be banished, or worse.

For years, he’d been hiding his true ability to manipulate rocks and earth. During a battle, he’d been able to avoid the Earth Kingdom’s attacks, dodging stone missiles and feeling the ground for attacks coming from below. Most had labelled it as luck. Many had just seen it as military genius, an inherited trait from his father, General Iroh, the Dragon of the West. But perhaps he’d been too lucky, the whispers said, and he was worried that he’d get found out soon.  
There was a time when he’d considered telling someone, his younger cousin Zuko, a boy who he could feel had a heart that was accepting, even if the child didn’t know it just yet. It wasn’t like he could tell his father; his mother was dead; his uncle was a power-hungry maniac; and his grandfather was the one who held an unfathomable hatred for all other nations. But Zuko was different, he saw a warmth and compassion that Lu Ten wished more of the Fire Nation had.

Before he’d discovered his ability, he’d grown up believing that the Fire Nation was justifiably at war with the rest of the world, and that they were spreading their culture for a good reason. But then, after near-death experience at a battle, Lu Ten had managed to stop a landslide from crushing him in a valley, and his view of the world had changed forever. He knew his mother has from the Earth Kingdom, but there was little else he knew about her. All he had from her was this gift.

Suddenly, he wasn’t the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, he was also an earthbender, and his culture was shared with the nation they were at war with. Conflict ripped him apart. He knew he couldn’t just desert the troops; he’d be exiled from the Fire Nation, named as a coward and banished from his family. But he also didn’t like fighting against people with whom he shared more than he knew, in his heart he knew it was wrong to be pretending, lying to him like this.

It became a waiting game. He needed the opportunity to get out. He wanted the war to end, he didn’t care who won anymore, because it would just mean a way to escape. But then the war didn’t seem to be ending, it just worsened, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to escape that way.  
A hawk arrived with news that his father was planning a siege of Ba Sing Se, and an idea had popped into his head. It was not a nice idea, nor one that would be easy to deal with, but he hoped that it would give him the chance he needed.

It hurt his heart, doing this to his father, to his family. But he knew that faking his death in the siege would allow him to slip into the Earth Kingdom unnoticed. So, the night before the attack, he rehearsed his plan. He would charge with his troops but disappear in clouds of the dust and rock that he knew the Earth Kingdom army would be throwing at them. Whether or not the siege was won, he could become martyr in the face of victory, or a casualty in the face of defeat.

* * *

In the morning before the attack, the air was eerily quiet and the world seemed still. Lu Ten left his tent at sunrise to have a final moment of contemplation about his decision. He watched the troops prepare for battle,  
So he waited for the call, for the sign to lead the charge into the Earth Kingdom capital. His heart pounded, sweat dropped on his brow, he breathed carefully, holding his sword tightly, ready for the battle that he knew he’d have to try to find his way out of. He knew his decision would break his father’s heart but he also knew that he had to make his own life. His father, his family, wasn’t in charge of his happiness anymore. He knew his plan, he knew what he had to do, and he had it all ready.

Then the call came. And Lu Ten was forced to send his troops into a battle that he didn’t think he could win. The wall was too high. The earth kingdom was too strong. Their troops were too tired. It was too ambitious, but Lu Ten couldn’t disobey his father, he had to go ahead and he charged.

Dust, fire, rocks, and ash swirled around him, he was engulfed in troops charging without mercy and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. It was his one and only chance to escape from a life he’d grown up in, but now needed to leave.  
After carefully avoiding the cascading stones and spiralling dust, Lu Ten managed to find himself in a fairly safe shelter, that he was carefully holding up.  
In this safe moment, he thought again about his decision. He knew how much it would break his father’s heart, but also that it would break his cousin’s heart. Zuko, barely a teenager, who Lu Ten knew had the potential to be such a powerful fire bender. But he could be so easily manipulated by his father, a man who was worryingly cruel and scarily vicious.  
But he knew that this was the right decision.

So in the midst of the battle, as the conflict raged around him, the son of the Dragon of the West, a young man which a huge secret removed his armour and changed into some earth kingdom clothes. He left his weapons, anything that identified him lying on the ground. Maybe they’d be found, maybe not, but either way he’d never been seen again.  
The heir to the fire nation disappeared into the battle and a golden-eyed earth bender came out the other side.

Over the years, Lu Ten learned to earth bend without fear of being found out. He managed to get a job on a farm, he was strong, capable, and living peacefully for many years. His earthbending improved greatly, and soon he left to travel around the earth kingdom, looking for perhaps a master to teach him, or for somewhere he could learn properly. Everywhere he went, he went by a different name, had a different story, it was safer that way. Sometimes news of the war would reach him, he heard of the Avatar’s return, the siege of the Northern Water Tribe. Stories of the Battle of Omashu and the defeat of King Bumi. He heard of the attempts on Ba Sing Se and how this time the Fire Nation had succeeded in taking the city. With every headline, he hoped that he might hear of his father, but Iroh was never mentioned.

As the months passed and war raged, sometimes he considered returning to his home, but with his monstrous uncle now leading the Fire Nation, Lu Ten knew his life would be in more danger than ever.

And then the war ended. Suddenly it was over and he heard that his cousin was the new Firelord. At first the news delighted him, finally a just and compassionate ruler. But then he remembered who Zuko’s father was, and Lu Ten was scared that his cousin had followed in Ozai’s footsteps. He didn’t hear Zuko’s coronation speech with Aang, he didn’t hear of all the work they were doing to change the Fire Nation for the better, so he stayed hidden in the Earth Kingdom.

* * *

He was in Gaoling, just stopped through on the way to somewhere new. He’d heard of underground Earth Bending battles, and he’d heard of legendary earth bender named the Blind Bandit who was undefeated but had vanished during the war, never to be seen again.

While at work - delivering packages around the town - he heard a rumour that the Blind Bandit was back for a fight that evening, he didn’t believe it at first, but as the day progressed, more and more people seemed to know about their return. He was carrying a stack of crates of cabbages when a poster asking for more fighters for Earth Rumble fluttered off the wall, landing at his feet. After delivering the vegetables, picked it up and read it. Apparently, all he had to do was turn up at the arena and give his name and pay an entry fee. He knew he was a decent earth bender, but was he that good?  
He thought about all the years he’d spent training, improving, practising, and he decided to enter the tournament. Maybe he’d get to meet the Blind Bandit backstage.

The evening came and he paid to enter the competition, the others fighters discussing the Blind Bandit’s return. But there were also whispers that the Avatar was in the crowd. He knew it couldn’t be true, and that it was probably just another rumour.  
The fights began, and he beat all of his opponents so far, but was yet to face the most formidable earth bender the world had seen - besides Avatar Kyoshi. He kept wining and kept progressing through the rounds, fighting The Gecko, The Gopher, Headhunter ans others until he reached the final.

“Laaaaadies and Gentlemeeeeen, get ready for the final of Earth Rumble Six! It’s our reigned and undefeated champion, The Bliiiiiind Bandit!” A humongous roar went up from the crowd as the small figure walked out onto the arena floor, teasing the crowd with rocks flying around her head. “...versus a newcomer, The Stooooone Dragon!” Lu Ten stepped nervously out onto the platform, the crowd cheering him on. Adrenaline rushed through his veins and he’d not felt anything like it before. The lights were bright and he could only see his opponent on the opposite end of the platform.  
“Prepare to lose.” The young girl hissed at him.  
“Fighters!” The referee said, and they both bowed at each other. The flag dropped and immediately a flurry of rocks was being hurled toward him.  
Lu Ten deflected them, throwing huge boulders back at her which she expertly avoided, barely even breaking a sweat.  
The fight continued for a while, the ground was split beneath them, dust and stone cascaded around them. It was a contest for the ages, and Lu Ten was getting tired, but the Blind Bandit seemed un-phased. She could feel his attacks before they arrived and missed everything he threw at her.

Lu Ten was in mid-air when his concentration broke. He’d pushed himself into the air, hoping that his competitor wouldn’t be able to feel his movements then. But he caught glimpse of someone in the crowd who he thought he recognised. The lights reflected in his golden eye, raven black hair tied up in a bun, and even in the neutral colours and with something over his left eye that Lu Ten couldn’t see, he was sure it was his cousin.  
“Zuko?” He whispered in shock, and the Blind Bandit felt his distraction, flinging him to the floor. The impact knocked him out and as he fell out of consciousness, he heard the umpire proclaim the girl as the winner.

When Lu Ten came to, he was lying on a bench in the arena. The crowd had gone, and all that was left was a small group huddled in one corner.  
“Urgh.” He groaned, sitting up and feeling all his injuries. Blinking to clear his eyes, he looked over to the group, he recognised the Blind Bandit. She was surrounded by five people, who were all congratulating her victory. He got up to leave, just thinking that he’d imagined seeing his cousin.  
“Hey,” She called as he walked away. “You’re good, not as good as me, but you’re good.” He turned to face her, and all the group turned look at him, apart from one whose face was hidden behind a hood.  
He gasped loudly as he recognised one of the people. The tattoos and bald head were a dead giveaway.  
“Thanks, sorry, but you’re the Avatar, right?” The boy nodded and smiled softly. “Hi.”  
“Wow, I think it’s amazing what you’ve done, you’re such...wow...I mean ending the war...just...wow.” He was starstruck and embarrassed that he couldn’t explain himself properly.  
“Thank you, but I can’t take all the credit. I couldn’t have done it without my friends.” The young boy gestured to the group around him, who all smiled at Lu Ten. The avatar elbowed the hooded figure, “Stop being awkward and say hello to the first person who’s nearly beaten Toph.” The mysterious boy grumbled and put removed the fabric.  
Lu Ten gasped again. The golden eyes, the black hair, the golden fire nation jewellery just visible under his brown cloak. He was almost sure it was his cousin, but he couldn’t quite tell. The scar that gripped his eye and face was new, and perhaps it wasn’t him. But the way he looked back at Lu Ten seemed familiar.  
His eye scanned his face like he was trying to place him, trying to work how if he knew him or not.  
“Zuko? Are you alright?” One of the girls asked, noticing his stunned silence.  
“Zuko.” Lu Ten breathed, recognising his cousin who he hadn’t seen in years. Tears welled up in his eyes, and all he wanted to do was hug him tightly.  
“It can’t be...” Zuko whispered quietly, looking him up and down. Lu Ten knew he looked different since the last time they’d seen each other. He was older, more mature, and now an earth bender. He was barely the same man who’d left for battle when Zuko was still a child.  
“‘Ko?” Another boy asked, looking nervously between the two of them. “Who is it?”  
“He looks like Lu Ten...”  
“Iroh’s son?” The Avatar asked. “But didn’t he, you know, die?”  
“Yeah...” Zuko was looking suspiciously at him, and the group all tensed, hands reaching for weapons and bending their elements.  
“Who are you?” A girl in blue clothes asked, water swirling in her hands threateningly.  
Lu Ten stepped back, holding his hands up in surrender. “Zuko, please, it’s me.”  
“Prove it.” The girl continued, a scowl curling on her face.  
“Ummmm, my father is General Iroh, the dragon of the west, my grandfather was Azulon, you have a younger sister called Azula, your father is Ozai and your mother is Ursa. I disappeared in the Seige of Ba Sing Se and was pronounced dead.” He explained, but it hadn’t convinced the group.  
“Most of that is public record.” The Avatar whispered to Zuko, who stepped forward, close to Lu Ten.  
“Tell me something only my cousin would know.” He said carefully, his voice rippling with tension.  
“When we were little, we used to go to Ember Island for vacations. One year your sister ran off and got lost, everyone was looking for her for hours until me and you found her collecting shells and crabs in a cave. She’d befriended a local boy who was called-“  
“- Maziko.” Zuko finished the story, a smiler creased over his face, and tears were welling in his eyes. “Cousin.” He whispered and Lu Ten was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace that felt like the love of a thousand people all at once. He buried his head in Zuko’s shoulder and realised how much he’d missed his family over the last few years.

Eventually, after a long hug, they pulled apart.  
Toph piped up behind them, “Oi! Zuko, aren’t you going to introduce us?”  
“Right, sorry. Gang, team, whatever, this is my cousin Lu Ten. Iroh’s son. These,” He turned back to Lu Ten. “Are my friends. Aang, the Avatar.”  
“Hi! It’s great to meet you!”  
“...Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, brother and sister.”  
“Hey.” “Hi! Pleasure to meet you!”  
“...Suki, of Kyoshi Island, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors.”  
“Hello!”  
“...And Toph Beifong, or The Blind Bandit.”  
“Yeah, we’ve met.” She shrugged and started playing with something that looked like metal. But it couldn’t be, Lu Ten thought, metal bending was impossible.  
“Wait, how come you’re an earth bender? And how come you’re not dead?” Sokka said, poking Lu Ten’s arm.  
He sighed and explained to Zuko and his friends. How he’d discovered his abilities, how he’d known that he wouldn’t have a place in the Fire Nation. He didn’t know why he seemed so comfortable around this eclectic group of teenagers, but Zuko seemed to trust them and so did he. He explained and they listened, and they all understood.

“I wish you’d come back sooner; the world has changed.” Zuko said after Lu Ten had finished telling his story.  
“I didn’t know what had happened at home, I didn’t know if you were like your father, I didn’t know if I’d be welcomed back.”  
“This guy? Like his loser of a father?” Sokka laughed loudly, feigning hysterics.  
“Sokka don’t be rude.” Katara said, elbowing her brother.  
“No, but...” He wheezed, the others scowling at him.  
“You can come home now.” Zuko hugged him again. “Let’s go.”

As they flew over the land and sea, Lu Ten was in awe of their journey. He sat with an open mouth while they soared through the sky, watching the landscape change beneath them. He watched as Zuko and his friends chatted. Bending their elements and playing with weapons, they were only children but Lu Ten could see how they’d all lived more lifetimes than anyone should.  
“Wait,” He suddenly said, breaking through the silence that had fallen around them. “Where’s my father?” Lu Ten saw awkward glances exchanged between the teenagers.  
It was Sokka who answered first. “He’s gone to a better place.”  
The words hit Lu Ten like a boulder, so much that he didn’t notice Katara hitting her brother on the shoulder. He gulped and felt a knot in his heart, but he knew it might have been a possibility.  
“Sokka don’t be a jerk.”  
Lu Ten looked up, confused. “What...?”  
“Sorry, he runs a tea shop in Ba Sing Se. He’s fine, just drinking tea and playing Pai Sho.”  
Lu Ten felt himself melt, hearing that his father was alive and well warmed his heart.  
“You know,” Aang said from the front of the sky bison. “We could extend this trip a bit, and stop in Ba Sing Se?”  
“What do you want to do?” Zuko asked Lu Ten, who was suddenly struck with fear. He didn’t know how his father would react to seeing him, after thinking he’d died years ago. But he knew he couldn’t hide anymore, and he couldn’t ask his cousin to keep his secret.  
“Let’s go to Ba Sing Se.”

When they landed, crowds of people surrounded the group, gushing over each of them. Some wanted to meet the avatar, others were in awe of the young Firelord, groups of teenage girls were starstruck at seeing Suki, Sokka and Katara were overwhelmed by people and Toph was immediately showing off her metal bending - which they’d explained to Lu Ten that she’d invented. He managed to slip through the crowds, eventually being re-joined by the others after they’d autographed portraits and shown off their abilities.  
“I had no idea you guys were so famous.” Lu Ten said to his cousin.  
“Ahh,” Sokka slapped him on the back, “You free a city, end a war, create two new types of bending, invent the war balloon, and become the pioneers of an era of peace, people start to recognise you.” He laughed, listing off their achievements and Lu Ten had to admit how impressed he was with the youngsters. They’d done so much in one year.

As they walked through the upper ring of the city, he couldn’t help but feel weird to be back. The last time he’d been there, it was the site of a major military defeat and the place where he’d changed his life forever. It was strange seeing the city like this, seeing it without a war, without thinking about strategy or victory. He watched the people going about their lives, many recognised the people he was with, but they left them alone. It seemed that it was not unusual for the Avatar to be in Ba Sing Se.

“This is it.” They stopped outside a tea shop with a sign above that read “The Jasmine Dragon”. The aroma of the tea wafted out the door and it felt so familiar to Lu Ten. He remembered the days as a child when his father had taught him about the ways of tea making.  
“You ready for this?” Zuko asked.  
“I think so.”  
“Ah it’s not that hard, I reconnected with my parents after a year of disappearing.” Toph shrugged and headed into the shop with everyone but Zuko and Lu Ten.  
“Toph you didn’t fake your own death and you only disappeared for a year not over half a decade.” Suki laughed, disappearing inside.

Lu Ten breathed heavily, preparing himself for whatever happened next. Zuko went inside first, Lu Ten followed, head down.  
“Nephew!” The old man exclaimed, having hugged each of the others tightly. He hugged Zuko and Lu Ten saw how his father had changed in the years he hadn’t seen him. Older, yet more gentle. Wizened, yet full of compassion. Tears filled his eyes as he saw how his father treated each of Zuko’s friends and Zuko like his own children.  
“Uncle, there’s someone I’d like you meet.” Zuko said, stepping aside so a son faced his father. The man looked him up and down, face bubbling with emotions. It seemed impossible, and Lu Ten didn’t know what to do. He just stood there, waiting for a reaction.  
“Father.” He said softly. Perhaps it was the sound of his voice, or the familiarity of his smile that brought everything back to Iroh.  
“My son.” The man whispered, stepping closer. Tears welled in Iroh’s eyes, the impossibility of the whole situation overwhelmed him and Lu Ten felt his heart break as his father looked at him like he was a ghost. “Is it really you?” His voice cracked, and he looked to Zuko, as if to check he wasn’t imagining it. Zuko nodded lightly and Iroh looked back to Lu Ten.  
“It’s me, father, I came home.” He whispered, and suddenly he was being hugged tightly, a man who he hadn’t seen in years. It was like he was a child again; a boy being embraced by his father. Tears stained their faces, cheeks were puffy, and voices whispered apologies. The world paused around them, creating a moment that deserved to be remembered as the most raw and most loving humanity could ever be.

It took a while, but eventually the two of them pulled apart.  
“I’m sorry for-.” Lu Ten began, wanting to explain but Iroh stopped him.  
“I don’t need an apology; all I need is to have you home. That is, if you want to stay.”  
“I don’t think there’s anywhere I’d rather be.”

So, in Ba Sing Se, where Lu Ten had forsaken his destiny of becoming the Firelord many years ago, he now sat in small tea shop telling his father the story of those years and hoping that they would be able to write new chapters together, full of laughter and family, full of love and kindness. Chapters that grew in their lives like leaves on a vine.


End file.
